Show english abbey built years ago now up for sal sale e rufford abbey year old english estate Is being put up for sale london papers report the estate contains acres and includes the abbey founded in the reign of king stephen partly rebuilt in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and an ancient deer park of more than acres it also includes the whole or greater part of the villages and parishes of old ollerton OU erton eakring earring Ea kring wellow bellow bilsthorpe BIls BlIs thorpe and ompton ampton as well as parts of walesby egmanton Eg manton ed winstone win stowe Farns barnsfield farnsfield field kirton budworth and tuxford the estate comprises about 70 farms 38 small holdings four licensed houses including the famous hop pole at ollerton many private resl residences dences and shops nearly 2000 acres of woods and plantations and hundreds of cottages one of the most famous estates in the du kerles rufford abbey never has been in the market before and its forthcoming sale will be one of the outstanding transactions of recent years in real estate lands at rufford were recorded long before but its history as an ab bey began in 1148 when gilbert de gaunt earl of lincoln founded an abbey there dedicated it to the honor of the blessed virgin mary and colonized it with cistercian monks from rievaulx Rie vaulx abbey the abbey lands increased and from the earnest earliest times the monks enjoyed special privileges in the surrounding forest of sherwood the abbots became rich enough to entertain royalty and september 18 rufford received the first of many subsequent royal visitors edward I 1 passed a night there and sealed a variety of documents the rich abbey attracted the attention of henry commissioners when he be was considering the dissolution of the monasteries and in 1537 1037 he annexed the abbey and gavel gave it and all its lands to george earl of shrewsbury with whose descendants it ever since has remained thus began rufford abbeys byear year existence as a country house bouse the chapel of the abbey was the th scene of the wedding in 1574 le of charles stuart younger brother of i darnley and elizabeth cavendish |